At Pathways Vermont, our programs are rooted in values such as individual choice, self-determination, trauma-informed care, peer support, and community integration.
We believe deeply in the transformative power of peer support. Its ability to foster meaningful connections and relationships helps individuals experiencing homelessness, mental health challenges, isolation, and substance use challenges to connect with peers who have lived experience of the same challenges. We are expanding our offerings of peer support programs for Vermonters.
Mental Health Urgent Care:
Pathways Vermont is pleased to be a partner in the new Metal Health Urgent Care (MHUC) opening in Burlington on October 28, 2024. Mental Health Urgent Care will provide accessible, timely, trauma-informed care that is person-centered, equitable, and coordinated to meet the needs of each guest. The clinic will be open from 9 am to 5 pm Monday-Friday, and guests will receive peer support services, medical care, care management, and a mental health assessment and support. This new collaboration is funded by the University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMMC) and the Vermont Department of Mental Health, with the Howard Center serving as the lead organization. Pathways Vermont, Community Health Centers, and UVMMC are key partners in this collaboration, each holding specific roles within the system of care at MHUC.
Pathways Vermont will provide peer support services. Director of Services Katie Bourque, who has been a pivotal part of developing MHUC, says, “We are excited that folks can opt into only receiving peer services if they want at MHUC. We are coming from a very choice-based perspective, and we will be hiring people with lived experience of mental health or substance use challenges to provide peer support services.”
MHUC will serve adults over the age of 18 who are experiencing mental health concerns (self-defined) or distress and who are looking for same-day care. “Pathways Vermont will have a designated area at MHUC to provide peer support. We will likely have four to five peers in that space at a time while folks are waiting to meet with clinicians.”
This new service is fully funded for three years, meaning no one seeking services during this period will be charged or billed except when guests with health insurance coverage receive physical health medical care services. This new service differs from the emergency department because it will specifically focus on mental health and well-being. Care will be provided in a trauma-informed, suicide-safe environment, and staff will offer different types of support and services based on the needs of the guests. To learn more, join the Town Hall Conversation on October 16th from 6 pm to 7:30. Follow this link to register: https://howardcenter.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kU2VnoTpTAW74WwSXMbzNQ#/registration
Pathways Vermont Peer Respite House:
Another new peer support initiative opening this fall is the Pathways Vermont Peer Respite. With the support of the Four Pines Fund, we are establishing a two-year pilot Peer Respite House, which will be located in Williston and available to all Vermont residents 18 years and older.
A peer respite has two parts. The first is the word peer. A peer-led program is specifically a program that is staffed by people with lived experience of mental health challenges, the same experiences that we are going to be working with and supporting people through. Respite means a short-term stay, typically up to seven days, depending on the situation. This means someone can come into the program, get the support and connection they need, and then return to their lives with a renewed sense of connection and understanding.
The new respite house is on a quiet road with lots of privacy and access to nature, an ideal environment for a respite house. We sat down with Jason Young, who has worked at Pathways in various roles since 2015, to discuss this pilot project. Jason is the house manager for the respite house. “I was inspired to take on this new role of manager of the Peer Respite House because I love creating spaces for people to connect, and this is another opportunity like Soteria to create a space for people to make connections and heal through those connections.”
The house will be staffed 24/7 with two bedrooms, so two residents can stay at a time. Jason explained, “This is a space where we expect that people are respectful of the house and the people staying there, but we want to create an environment that people can use in a way that they naturally and inherently want to and need to use it.”
As this is a new pilot project, we aim to build community awareness within the state that this service is available. Pathways Vermont has a very low barrier intake process; people can contact us directly, and we can answer questions. We try to make the process of getting connected to be as accessible as possible. We will connect with community partners for referrals, especially the new Mental Health Urgent Care opening in Burlington next month. Jason says, “What we are trying to do here is provide access to care. You don’t need insurance, a diagnosis, or a referral to be able to stay at the peer respite. You can just be a human being dealing with stress and come into the respite to get support that is easy, streamlined, natural, and anonymous.”
While staying at the peer respite, someone can expect a warm, homelike setting. People won’t be demanding a lot from you, but they will be curious about your experience and want to connect with you about those experiences. “The house itself is just a necessary structure in which human connection can occur. The experience will be about human connection. People will be able to connect with you and break down the isolation that crisis can generate without a lot of external agenda on your experience. This is about helping people engage their own experiences in a productive way. It is a non-clinical, non-prescriptive, safe space where people can explore their experiences genuinely and productively.”
We asked Jason to flash forward ten years – what would this look like, and how would the system of care have changed? He said, “Flash forward ten years; I would love to see a peer respite in every county. More importantly, the big shift in mental health would be an awareness of what services are available and a very non-stigmatized relationship to it. I want people to feel comfortable accessing mental health care. It should be, ‘Oh, you are having a hard time; go to the respite for a week.’ I want that to be accepted not only on an individual level but with families and employers, just everyone accepting that as a part of being human. Sometimes, we go through hard things, and the specific support offered in a peer support program is there. I want people to know it exists and is effective and accessible. Your stay at the respite doesn’t start with a predetermined blueprint of who you are and what you need. Instead, we proceed with curiosity about who you are and what you need and support you in that. It is really about autonomy and a relationship-first approach.”
